Mezunte proves to be a difficult place to leave. Our little hostel is perched high above the beach with beautiful views and lovely breezes and the owners are a friendly local family.Our first nights stay sees a huge storm with torrential rain, it teams and while our balcony leaks badly our room remains dry, something we are quite surprised at. The following morning the streets are awash with mud and sand, everyone is out cleaning the floors of their shops while others are shovelling the mud from the streets.

The hostel is perched on the hill top

View from our hotel room

We spend the four days here wandering the beach and going out to frequent the limited restaurants in town. Although very small, Mezunte does have a great little bakery which is hidden down some back streets, armed with instructions from our room neighbour at the hostel we still take over half an hour on the first morning to find it but eventually we hunt down our ham and cheese pastries for breakfast.

On most days we go for a long beach walk stopping off at the local beach side restaurants for a beer or margarita before it is back to the hotel for an afternoon kindy nap, then another afternoon beach walk followed by dinner out. This completes our action packed days.

Beach walks

Enjoying a margarita

While moving the bike at the hostel, we discover by pure chance that the rear brake light is not working with the hand brake but is ok with the foot brake, Skill traces this to a failed switch so we have a look at a few options for ordering a new one, we find a Suzuki dealers in Oaxaca and Tepic (as we don't want to ride into the larger cities if we can avoid it), we fire off a couple of emails but get no response from either so we figure we will just have to call in on our way through these places and hope for the best.

When we go to move the bike we discover no rear brake light

However all good things must come to an end and we eventually get ourselves packed up, re-ride the dug up roads and desvios (detours) back to the main cross roads where we take the 175 towards Oaxaca. The road itself is the usual potholed, tope ridden scenario but oh my goodness the twists and turns are awesome as is the scenery, it makes for an absolutely stunning day. Although it is only 253 km to Oaxaca, the windy road make it slow going so we make it an early day and stop at San Jose del Pacifico high up in the mountains at some gorgeous little cabins I had read about in a blog. La Puesta del Sol proves to be a tranquil retreat, after a chicken, bean and rice lunch in the restaurant, we sit on the front verandah of our little cabin overlooking the valley below drinking red wine.

Our mountain retreat

Lan enjoys a red wine in tranquil surroundings

We watch a spectacular sunset. Later in the evening as it got dark, the owners come and light a fire for us, it really was an idyllic day. Part of me really enjoyed the fire but another part of me felt guilty as a few times during the days ride we had come across villagers collecting wood. Older men and women lugging wood on their backs out of necessity and here I was burning precious wood for sheer pleasure.

Enjoying the warming fire

The following morning we have breakfast and then after lugging our gear up the steep hill we are off towards Oaxaca. The ride is fairly easy with not too much traffic and we arrive on the outskirts of Oaxaca a few hours later. We easily find the Suzuki shop on the way in but as suspected they don't have a switch in stock and will take a week to get it in, so we say thanks and make our way into the city centre. This proves to be somewhat of a nightmare, as city streets are blocked off and unbeknown to us it is a long weekend, we have three hotel options but they are all full, and another three we try are also full. We end up in an awful, dodgy, overpriced hotel but it does have fantastic secure parking so we take it, cut our losses and go out to the Zocalo (Central square) for a late lunch and a spot of people/tout watching. People are trying to sell us all manner of things, from dodgy wooden dolls to even worse looking musical instruments and all manner of jewellery. After a while Skill tells me I have the "don't come anywhere near me, I will stab you" look and it seems to be working as we are left in peace to enjoy our huge hamburger lunch, and some local musicians.

After lunch we wander the beautiful old streets of Oaxaca.

The streets of Oaxaca

The streets of Oaxaca

We end up at the Cathedral where there are protest marches and vigils being held for the missing students. In the last few weeks these protests seem to be gathering momentum and the larger cities have been shut down.

Vigils for the missing students

It all seems so incredibly sad, senseless and barbaric. This extract is from a local newspaper "On September 26, 2014, 43 male students from the Rural Teachers' College of Ayotzinapa went missing in Iguala, Guerrero According to official reports, they commandeered several buses and travelled to Iguala that day to hold a protest at a conference led by the mayor's wife. During the journey local police intercepted them and a confrontation ensued. Details of what happened during and after the clash remain unclear, but the official investigation concluded that once the students were in custody, they were handed over to the local Guerreros Unidos ("United Warriors") crime syndicate and presumably killed. Mexican authorities claimed Iguala's mayor, Jose Luis Abarca Velazquez, and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa, masterminded the abduction." The newspapers now report that the mayor and his wife have been arrested as being complicit in their murders. This shocking atrocity has galvanised the Mexican people from all walks of life, there unified cry is "Enough"

We arrive back at our dodgy hotel after dark and hunker down for the night, however sleep without ear plugs is impossible as the group of young revellers across the hallway party into the wee small hours.

Next day we make our escape from Oaxaca quite early for us, we are breakfasted and on the bike by 9.00 am. If it had not been a long weekend and accommodation was a little easier to find we would have stayed for longer but we are both keen to get going. We head out onto the freeway towards Pueblo. Even though it is a freeway it is still incredibly scenic and I must say we enjoy not having to slow down for topes (speed bumps) every 500 metres. Most freeways in Mexico are toll roads and they are quite expensive, but it makes for a nice easy riding day. We stop along the way for coffee and croissant (makes a change from our usual egg and bean breakfast) and get chatting to some locals who want to know about our journey and also the number one question we get from Mexicans "How are we enjoying Mexico?" to which we respond truthfully. "We love your country".

We continue on towards Pueblo, and enter the crazy traffic, we witness two accidents in about ten minutes, time to get out of here me thinks. However as usual we take a few wrong turns but eventually get on the road North towards Tlaxcala. We arrive about an hour later and so begins the hunt for an elusive hotel within our budget, after riding most streets of the old city and at least 6 tries we eventually check into rather an odd hotel, we have to park the bike in the parking lot on the road, then take a lift up three stories, walk over a little bridge to the reception area where we can check in. We have a choice of three rooms. The rooms are quite nice and we choose one with a lovely view over the old town and square, then begins the painful descent and ascent to get all our gear off the bike. Eventually we are happily housed in our new room and decide to have lunch/dinner in the hotel's restaurant overlooking the town. It is a lazy afternoon in and we have a very early night.

View from our room overlooking Tlaxcala

Next day we walk into the main square and wander the streets by foot, checking out the beautiful old buildings before finding a restaurant to have breakfast in. While breakfast was not a great success we did enjoy the young waiters efforts to speak English with us, a delightful young man.

Out and about in Tlaxcala

That's our hotel up on the hill

Back at the hotel we take a while to get all our gear back on the bike but we are eventually on the road towards San Juan Teotihuacan, home to the amazing Teotihuacan pyramids. The ride is pretty easy and we arrive around 1.30. As we ride into town we notice that we are being tail gated by a crazy taxi driver, we pull over to one side to let him pass and also to check out our hotel options here. As we slow down the taxi also does so and pulls up along side us. Out jumps a guy who introduces himself as Terry Borden, assures us he is not a stalking madman but a fellow motorcyclist travelling with his family. After a quick roadside discussion we follow the taxi and the Bordens to a great camping area right in the middle of town.

Once off the bike we make the introductions, Terry, Sandy and their young son Jack have begun the journey from the States south to South America, we also have many friends and acquaintances in common. This motorcycling community is a small and tight knit one.

Once we have the tent up and have ourselves unpacked and organised we enjoy a great afternoon and evening with these guys, it is a huge pizza for dinner then a walk around the town square, it is lovely to have company albeit for a short period of time, oh and by the way Jack is a fluent Spanish speaker, makes it so easy ordering dinner.

Next day we say sad farewells to the guys, all wishing we had longer together but we need to see the Pyramids and they need to keep moving. We are lucky that circumstances brought us together if even for a short time.

Sandy, Jack and Terry

We then grab a cab out to the pyramids and begin our 4 hour excursion to this amazing archaeological site of the most architecturally significant pyramids built in the pre Columbian Americas. The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC, with major monuments continuously under construction until about AD 250. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

Apart from the pyramids, Teotihuacan is also significant for its complex, multi-family residential compounds, the Avenue of the Dead and the small portion of its vibrant murals that have been exceptionally well-preserved.

Lan walking towards Pyramid of the Moon

Looking back towards the Pyramid of the Sun and Avenue of the Dead

Murals at the Teotihuacan pyramids

We thoroughly enjoy our day here but by 2.00 pm have had enough of the ever present touts trying to sell us all sorts of so called valuable items that we don't want so we take our leave by a battered old taxi that we hope will make it back into town. We are driven by a garrulous man who thinks we can understand him and spends more time looking back at us than he does looking at the road. We arrive unscathed and head straight to the wood fired BBQ chicken stand across the road from the camp ground, then it's time for an afternoon snooze inside our tent.

Our pizza from the previous night was so good that we head back for a second go, unfortunately we don't have Jack with us to translate and there is something we are just not understanding, in the end the poor old waiter gives up and goes off to tend to other patrons. A short time later we get our pizza which we enjoy, then as we are finishing up another pizza in a box turns up at our table. By this time we have no idea what is going on. Finally they find someone who can speak a little English. "Tuesday is two for one" deal. Ok we can live with that, guess what we are having for lunch/dinner tomorrow. Fortunately the weather is cold and it is a pepperoni pizza.

The following day is a slow pack up as we get all the camping gear and our HUGE pizza back on the bike and finally we are ready to leave. We say goodbye to our charming hostess then we promptly get lost on some back roads, although we are riding beside the freeway we cannot find our way onto it. Eventually in sheer desperation we ride through a small hole in the fence, across a watery ditch and then it is up a heavily graveled incline onto the freeway. Once on the right road Mr Zumo immediately wants us to leave it again and instead of taking the interconnecting freeways that will easily take us North we end up on the clogged outer suburb streets of Mexico City. It is a very stressful hour and half before we eventually get on the 57 North.

Finally after what seems like half a day we are able to get moving and put some kilometres on, however just North of Coyotepic we come to a grinding halt and we sit in the traffic for over half an hour.

It is just one of those days, we wait in the traffic

Eventually we decide that as we are near an exit into a small village we will ride back up the shoulder of the road the wrong way and follow the cars in front of us doing the same thing. Our "follow the car" in front strategy proves to be a successful move and half an hour later we arrive back on the deserted freeway North. It is then a fairly uneventful ride into the beautiful cobblestoned village of San Miguel de Allende but to top off a long stressful day, the hotel with parking I had chosen no longer existed.

I spend the next hour trudging around looking for a hotel, they are either incredibly expensive (I was quoted $250 US a night) or they do do not have parking. San Miguel de Allende has a huge American ex-pat community and while lots of people stop for a chat with Skill while he minds the bike no one can recommend a hotel with parking. Finally I remember the Mexico guide book and check it out to find that there is Hotel Quinto Loreto with parking and we eventually mange to find our way through the maze of one way streets and arrive just on dark. Amazingly it is within our budget and has parking right outside the room. Exhausted, we get unpacked, Skill then goes out to find beer and water, and we devour our left over pepperoni pizza from the previous night before it is a long hot shower and an early night. (We later learn from other travellers that there is a good camp ground in San Miguel de Allende)

We enjoy three nights in San Miguel de Allende, it is a delightful town with a huge American population and while some people do not like it for this reason we enjoy our time here. On our first morning out and about the streets are all closed off for a huge street parade, we make our way to the square and enjoy the passing parade. After that we check out the local artisans market which is behind our hotel and then to top off a perfect day we head out to a lovely upmarket local restaurant where we enjoy the best meal we have had in a long time. The end to perfect day

The following day is another day spent exploring this quaint little town even visiting a toy museum.

Lan at the Toy Museum

Toy Museum

Main Square San Miguel de Allende

More Vigils

Main Square San Miguel de Allende

Lan window shopping

Later that evening we contact Jan & Tom at Pericos on Lake Chapala, the Bordens had visited friends there and recommended this place to us. We have decided that we want to stop for a while and have our own space and kitchen, and this place while not luxurious looks fine to us and is within our budget. We receive a quick welcoming response and book in for 10 days. We will arrive in two days time on Sunday.

With that decision made we leave beautiful San Miguel de Allende, but after Mr Zumos inability to navigate us I have used google maps to plot our route to Morelia and we have a trouble free navigation day using my notes. We enter the troubled state of Michocan known for it's crime, drug cartels, and corrupt police and officials. We ride into the small village of Cuitzeo del Porvenir, a small village on Lago Cuitzeo hoping that we might be able to find some accommodation rather than having to negotiate the city of Morelia, but we have no luck and what's more can't find our way back to the freeway and end up riding the wrong way up a one way street to do so. As luck??? would have it we encounter the police who pull us over and start to admonish us for riding up a one way street the wrong way, we respond that we are lost and want to get back to the freeway. Now what does this so called corrupt and bad police official of Michocan state do? He happily tells us to follow him and escorts us out of town and back to the freeway, shaking our hand and wishing us "Buen Viaje". We are always amazed at the friendliness of strangers. Back on the right road we head into the historic centre of Morelia, this takes us quite some time as the road is jammed with traffic but once inside the historic centre we can see it is a beautiful city and we find a nice little hotel that lets us park the bike in the courtyard beside the fountain.

Parked in the courtyard again

We spend the afternoon wandering the streets and enjoy the beautiful historic buildings, later we find the cathedral and have dinner on the square, watching the antics of locals and tourists alike. What a fantastic city, we are so pleased that we were forced to stay here. The only downside is the continual canon fire from the church, we are not sure why they seem to use canon/fireworks instead of the usual bells but it has been quite common in the last week or so. It is definitely an earplug night.

Beautiful woman in Morelia

Our view as we have dinner

Next morning we have a quick travelling breakfast and are on the road, armed with the GPS co-ordinates for Pericos and my detailed google map instructions we head out of Morelia only to find that the GPS cannot route us. While stopped for fuel and some more breakfast Skill decides to reload the GPS. This seems to do the trick and we are underway again.

Downloading GPS software and BIG Corona trucks

It is a non eventful ride and we arrive at Pericos around 2.00pm. We are warmly welcomed by Tom and Jan, we then set about making ourselves at home in our new apartment and head out to do our grocery shopping. It is here we visit our very first Walmart ever. We are in awe, it is a long time since we have had this much choice in grocery items, we go a little overboard and have trouble fitting everything on the bike. I even buy a broom for $1.50 and have to carry it on the bike. We excitedly have the makings for a Thai stirfry and have found fish sauce for the first time in over 18 months travel. That evening we enjoy a fantastic home made dinner in our own kitchen, not only that we get to listen in and enjoy the birthday celebrations of a local Mexican family who have hired a fantastic Mariachi band. We then meet up with 2 wonderful travelling families who are currently living at Pericos, Renee, Mark and their gorgeous daughter and Leah and Nathan and their two boys. All in all it has been a great day.

Our little unit at Pericos

Bike parked at Pericos

Skill cooks Asian curry.

Our ten day stay at Pericos goes quickly, there is always someone to talk to, food to cook and outings to be had or simply some reading to be done. Renee and Mark kindly adopt us and show us the local shopping haunts including the local markets where we spend a wonderful day and enjoy the most incredible fried shrimp tacos I have ever eaten. Our life is pretty idyllic.

This complex of apartments has many American/Canadian residents but also many Mexiacn families too, there is a lovely diversity of culture and characters. During our first week there, we are invited to join in the amazing Thanksgiving festivities (our very first ever) The feast is held in the huge restaurant on the grounds, some 40 people all contribute to the dinner, and all the kids decorate the restaurant, later in the evening two residents who are local professional musicians entertain us into the wee small hours. It really was a special evening and something we will treasure for a long time to come.

These two guys are incredibly talented

Our time here just seems to fly by and before you know it our time is up, we have already said sad goodbyes to Leah, Nathan and the boys who are heading back to the States. On our last evening we have a few drinks with Mark, Renee and while we are chatting, their beautiful daughter turns up with a Christmas gift for us. It is a kindle, we are overwhelmed by their generosity. They had seen me reading the same two books for our entire stay, and I told them that I had probably read them 5 or 6 times. Being editors themselves they could not stand the thought of me having nothing to read so gave me one of their old kindles. I really was gobsmacked and thank them from the bottom of my heart, I have been reading continuously since then.

We say goodbye to lovely new found friends

So we do finally leave the security and friendship of Pericos and it is off towards the North, I have discovered a camp ground called Koala Bungalows and Camping on Lago del Oro and of course we just have to go there. We enjoy the ride along the edge of Lake Chapala and then join the road North to the outskirts of Guatalajara. This time I have not left the navigation to Mr Zumo but have detailed instructions via google maps and we seem to manage the chaotic traffic quite well and are soon on Highway ????? towards Tepic. About 20 kms before Tepic we take the scenic, twisty road into Lago del Oro. On our way in Skill asks me can I feel a vibration in the bike to which I answer "No", he seems to think that it is not behaving as it should in the steering and will have to check it out when we arrive.

We find the camp ground with ease, it is quite lovely and we enjoy our roasted chicken sandwiches before we set up camp for the next two nights, we are the only people there. It is at this point that Skill checks out the bike thinking that the front wheel bearings might be shot but alas "No" nothing that simple, it is the steering head bearings. Bugger. Oh well what is to be done but enjoy the views with a beer or two, there are very limited shops and restaurants in Lago del Oro but fortunately we had stocked up before we left Lake Chapala and I had made a couple of meals to bring with us, and they were still frozen solid (the weather is a tad chilly) so we were quite self sufficient. The only problem we have is that there is no internet so we cannot look up the directions for the Suzuki shop in Tepic. Fortunately for us Skill had done some research into Suzuki shops earlier and seemed to think the Suzuki bike shop was on the main road out of Tepic. Oh well time will tell.

We enjoy another day at Koala Camping wandering the Lakes edge and checking out the village before enjoying a lazy afternoon reading on my new kindle, and finally our now defrosted spaghetti bolognese for dinner. Our only disappointment with the campgound is we did not see one koala we did however see bees swarming and wouldn't you know it, they make their new swarm in the tree next to our tent, not good when one member of our duo is highly allergic to the little buggers.

Lago del Oro

At Koala Campground - Lago del Oro

We mange to get packed up and on the road by 9.30 am, something of a miracle for us but as it is Saturday and we don't know where the bike shop we want to allow time to find it. As luck would have it, Skill's memory serves us correctly and we find the bike shop on the outskirts of town, fortunately for us they are open and they have a tiny bit of English. Somehow with our Spanglish we manage to communicate and get the steering head bearings and the new switch for the rear brake light ordered. We exchange email addresses and the guys promise faithfully to email us when the parts arrive, probably in a weeks time.

We are then in a quandry as to where we should go, after some discussion and advise from the guys as Meta Suzuki we decide we will head to Sayulita near Puerto Vallarta. I have a quick look at Sayulita on line and find the name of a camping ground, we are then off towards the coast. It is a pleasant two hour ride, although there is a fair amount of traffic, we enjoy the days ride. On arrival we find the camp ground, it is quite disappointing, while right on the beach, it is quite grotty with dog poop everywhere, filthy amenities block and a mish mash of old half falling down tents here and there. The other problem is no internet which we need to communicate with the guys at Mesa Suzuki.

We decide we will need to check out other options, quite by accident we end up looking at the RV park next door and ask them do they take campers to which they respond yes. Although quite expensive we have power, water, internet, and the amenities are spotlessly clean, we find a grassy spot in between a semi permanent trailer (caravan) and a big RV, have lunch and then put up our tent. Well what can we say, this place was beautiful and it is to become our home for the next ten days.

View from our tent at Sayulita Campground